Garden Gives Me Joy
Well-Known Member
I want to maximize medicinal, color, and fragrant properties of extracts in superfats and other water-soluble plant-based extracts. It seems that NaOH and heat degrade these properties. I'm wondering whether rebatching / double milling my plain soap is a solution. If my thinking is correct, how best should I approach this?
Initial process: Should I use CP or HP?
How might HP work?
Temperatures for adding Essential Oils?
Thanks so much in advance for answering my questions.
Initial process: Should I use CP or HP?
- Why are cold processed mostly / often / only mentioned for rebatching?
- Can't I get the same results if I speed things up with the HP?
How might HP work?
- If I used the HP, should I somehow do things differently re superfatting, water content or other variables during the initial milling process?
- Should I cook with extra water to emulate the CP?
- Should I cure the soap faster by molding it in a particular way?
- NaOH seems highly responsible for the loss of extract properties. On that basis, would adding all superfat upfront, even at the end of the initial milling using the HP method, help to neutralize the NaOH faster before rebatching? ... or would it be better to add the superfact during the rebatch process if HP was used for the initial milling?
Temperatures for adding Essential Oils?
- Should I use the 'flash point' as a guide for the ideal temperature at which I should add easily-evaprated top note oils to minimize their evaporation? ... and before the batter seizes up? For instance, tea tree oil has a FP of 59 degrees Celsius. Should I aim to add the oil at around 55 C (a little less because the mass of the soap may continue to heat up after being repoured)?
Thanks so much in advance for answering my questions.